OliveTreeBlog.com

With the release of a new beta version of our software, we at Olive Tree are always curious to see what kind of user feedback we will have. The latest beta version of the Palm BibleReader was no exception. And with this reader, we were even more expectant, because there are some really neat features that we added this time, as you probably read about in an earlier blog post. Sure enough, the user comments have been coming in, and we wanted to share a couple with you. Here’s what one avid Olive Tree user wrote in to tell us:

Thanks for not leaving out Palm users on all of the wonderful new features that you have just released. The new beta is incredible. The new search options are second-to-none and the secondary toolbar is just AMAZING! I have never seen a company so dedicated to constant improvement of their products. I am so glad that I am a customer of Olivetree. Thank you for being so attentive to the requests of your customers.

Today we also came across an article recently posted on PalmAddicts that gives a good discussion of Bible software for Palm devices, and talks in particular about OliveTree’s BibleReader software, our frequent updates, and some of the new features we’ve just recently added. Here’s a quick look at what this article discusses:

Recently (in about the last 2 years), Olive Tree improved their BibleReader by leaps and bounds! So much so that it is now the most used Bible reading program on my Palm device … I carry 12 different translations of the Bible with me, including a French Bible. It has commentaries, cross reference links, life application notes and a dictionary … Navigation through the Bible and searches are very easy to do. There are a variety of choices for programming your hard keys for certain tasks while using BibleReader. They put a high importance on you being able to customize the program to do whatever you want … The best part about Olive Tree is that their basic reader and a few of the most basic Bibles come absolutely free!

You can read this full article at:
http://palmaddict.typepad.com/palmaddicts/2007/05/bible_software_.html

So if you’re a Palm user, why don’t you download our new beta reader and checkout these new features for yourself!  

~ K

We are in the process of testing some new features on our website, and are looking for some outside testing. The basic changes we’ve made:

1. You can customize the website to be “device dependent” so that you can browse olivetree.com just based on your device and the features and products that will work for you.
2. You can now build your own software bundle, and get discounts accordingly. This new discount system is already in place, and the discounts will apply to any purchases you make, once you turn on the testing mode for the site.

If you are interested in helping us test these exciting new changes, go to the link below and read the instructions there to get started. Please send all comments, suggestions, and feedback to beta02@olivetree.com.

http://www.olivetree.com/store/dd_beta.php

Looking forward to hearing from you soon!
~ K

Yes! Our licensing agreement requires that you install each purchased product on only one device, but you can switch which device the product is installed on. For Palm OS, Windows-Mobile Pocket PC, Windows-Mobile Smartphone, and all Symbian platforms, you can just login to your Personal Library, click on the Download link for the product, and select the download that matches the OS for your phone. If you aren’t sure what OS your device is using, just email us at support@olivetree.com and we’ll help you sort it out. BlackBerry downloads will be incorporated into the download page for the products soon, but until then, if you let us know you’re switching to BlackBerry as your PDA platform, we will transfer your license to the BlackBerry files, which will then show up in your Personal Library. Once you’ve purchased a product from Olive Tree, it’s yours - you can access file updates, switch devices, whatever you need.

~ K

For a number of years now I’ve had the pleasure of serving our users with customer/technical support.  Whether through email or a phone call I’ve been involved with helping hundreds if not thousands of dear people getting the BibleReader and a Bible version installed on their PDA or Smartphone.  The overwhelming majority of the time it comes to a happy conclusion with the user saying “There it is - In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”.  Their Bible is installed and now they can get on with the pleasure of reading it on the device in their hand.   

Day by day we get to enjoy these small encounters with people from all over the world.  But we’d like to hear what else we might do to make your Olive Tree experience more pleasant.  It came to mind that we might use this blog site as a means to ask you for some feedback on our Customer Support or the website in general.  We would appreciate any comments or suggestions that you have that would help us serve you better.     

So if you have been looking for something and can’t find it, or you find some installation instruction difficult to understand, please let us know because we want to make this as user friendly as we can.  Our goal in customer support is that you would be reading the Bible on your device not spending too much time trying to get it up and running.   

We look forward to your thoughts and observations. Feel free to email me at support@olivetree.com with any of your comments!

- Kimbobwe

Our engineers aren’t the only ones getting excited about the new Pocket PC features - our beta users are getting excited too! Here’s what one of our customers had to say…

I had been a user of another PDA Bible Software product until being introduced to the Olive Tree BibleReader through purchasing the New Oxford Annotated Bible for my PPC.  I immediately liked the interface and then found the wide range of original language tools available.  I have since bought several English translations, two versions of the Greek text, and the “Little Kittel” Theological Dictionary.  I have also regularly loaded the beta releases and have appreciated the increases in both functionality and ease of use.  This [latest] update is incredible.  Kudos to whoever developed the second toolbar.  I can view full screen and still have easy access to the functions I commonly use with a pull-down bar that only shows when I want it.  This is great!  Love this build!  [This] second toolbar is just the latest step forward in molding the application interface to match the way people use the software.  What a concept!

So - if you’re a feature lover, get ready for the new Pocket PC reader, or get a sneak peak with the beta reader today!

~ K